Rob Wayman returns with his second mix following last years, ‘UpStream‘ – a superb journey which led to the discovery of Horizon Fire amongst many other talented artists. This mix, titled ‘Spring – Where water from deep in the earth Spouts out of the ground”, is along the same lines as ‘Upstream’ and again features an amazing tracklist rammed full of classics and several of my all-time favourite tracks including; Aphex’s ‘Lichen’, Boards of Canada’s ‘Peacock Tail’ and the more recent ‘Hollow’ from 36 (reworked by the man himself)

I’ve got to be honest, since day one of the isolatedmix series, Markus Guentner has been at the top of the wish-list. He needs little introduction to most of you, as lovers of ambient would’ve no doubt at some point melted in amongst one of his productions on Kompakt’s Pop Ambient or floated along to one of his very rare ambient sets. His consecutive contributions to our best loved ambient series and a one-off release on Sending Orbs has earn’t him respect from all walks of musical life. From lovers of ambient to die-hard techno fans, i’ve heard Markus’ name crop up numerous times within inspirational music conversations.

The likes of ‘Baghira’ and ‘Express Yourself’ have become synonymous with dream-like, looping ambient productions for the past ten or so years and have taken starring roles amongst Kompakt’s finest productions – no mean feat. Ultimately, Markus’ consistent, quality ambient music has defined the minimalist side of Kompakt we all love today and has spurred on a multitude of other producers to adopt the same approach to ambient music.

It’s unsurprising therefore to find out the inspiration and theme for Markus’ isolated mix.

10yrs of Pop Ambient …

“As you can see, I used a lot of Pop Ambient/Kompakt tracks in this set, but it should not be seen as promo-mix for Kompakt – instead, the mix honours ten years of a specific ambient-style and contains many of the great artists who produced and adopted this style. I selected long and wide tracks to create a constant atmosphere, for long mixes without big cuts and breaks.”

For those of you that follow ASIP regularly, you’re probably aware of my obsession around places, and its relation to music. Places can inspire and music can be a result of this inspiration as well as compliment our experiences in a personal and memorable way.

With that in mind, it gives me great pleasure in introducing the 21st isolatedmix to you all. The genius behind ‘Manual’ and recent collaborator with Ulrich Schnauss, Jonas Munk has chosen a unique approach to his isolatedmix. I needn’t say much more, as Jonas has given us an in-depth commentary on the approach and the tracks that have been chosen below.

The thought and effort that has gone into this mix is second to none, so a big thank you to Jonas for an insightful, and inspiring isolatedmix.

-
Words from Jonas Munk:

“I’ve had this idea of compiling some of the artists that has come out of my hometown Odense, Denmark for a while. Recently a short Danish radio feature was made about the music scene in Odense which gave a glimpse of some of the current projects, but it certainly didn’t paint a picture of the city as a place with a specific sound. But what has become more and more obvious to me throughout the years is that Odense most certainly has a sound – or at least a certain character. Sure, bands break up or change their style and people move away, but somehow there’s a set of similarities running through a lot of the music that has come out of Odense anyway – which should be obvious when listening to this mix of dreamy rock and electronic music from the last ten years.

When I was asked to do a mix for astrangelyisolatedplace, I felt that it was a good opportunity to finally compile some of the fine bands and artists from Odense, and maybe also the right time since it’s roughly ten years ago me and my friends starting releasing albums. But even with such a stylistically narrow focus (bands and artists that are somehow related to dream-pop, ambient or shoegaze) it was actually impossible to squeeze the rather large amount of projects into a comprehensive overview within an hour-long mix. So unfortunately not all the relevant projects are represented here.

Which is kind of ironic. In Denmark, Odense (the third largest city in the country) has a reputation of being a cultural wasteland, a place with miles and miles of residential neighbourhoods but hardly any culture of real interest. Which is true, sort of. On the surface there has only been the occasional famous DJ or rock band coiming out of Odense. Besides that there have been loads of cover bands. And metal bands. Lots of metal bands. But underneath all this there has been produced a wealth of highly ambitious, original and accomplished music in Odense. It’s just that it has never been obvious to anyone who wasn’t either part of these circuits or deeply interested in alternative music. This stuff hasn’t really been super visible at local venues or been present in the Danish press – it has mainly been going on in bedrooms, rehearsal spaces and project studios. Apart from a few interested journalists and concert promoters all this great music has been all but completely neglected by the cultural institutions – that be mags, radio, festivals, art councils and daily press. At least in Denmark, that is. Because a lot of these artists have done very well outside Denmark, releasing albums on respected labels in the US, Germany, UK, France and Japan, and have gotten amazing press and toured in these countries. Except for one, none of these artists have ever released anything in Denmark.

So how come a slow, medium-sized city such as Odense, in a country with hardly any interest in this kind of music, has produced all these quality dreamy records? Good question. Maybe one reason is the lack of interesting things going on. Except for the occasional festival or the occasional cool show at one of the local venues. There have been a long tradition for international bands to skip Odense when playing in Denmark: the cool bands play Copenhagen, then travel straight to Aarhus before going down to Germany. You’re propably more likely to have a good evening drinking cheap beer listening to Seefeel and My Bloody Valentine all night with your friends than going to one of the local techno parties or rock venues. Maybe there’s a tendency for people to become slightly introverted and therefore absorb themselves in music and creation. And if you’re a young, slightly introvert artist what better sounds to bury yourself in than the dreamy sounds of the 1980s and early 1990s? Well, according to this idea every motionless, medium-sized city in Europe should be producing loads of shoegaze bands, which obviously isn’t the case. Maybe it’s because Denmark is a welfare country and young people tend to have plenty of time on their hands – which an amount of them choose to spend playing guitar while starring at the clouds? I’m not sure.

Maybe the more likely explanation is that a bunch of young, romantically inclined and somewhat intellectual people have been hanging around each other, generating ideas and these ideas have been bouncing around their friend circuits for some time and eventually beyond those circuits, which in the end have resulted in a lot of music that shares certain traits. Coincidentally these people are into Durutti Column, Slowdive and the likes – great music that isn’t really trendy, that is.

Or maybe there’s just something in the water in Odense, that naturally makes young people attracted to reverb and melancholia?”

Ryan, ASIP:It’s been a while since i’ve featured a no-holds-barred, no genre defined, all-star line-up kinda mix. The kind of mix that everyone want’s to put together every now and then – an advanced ‘favourite’ playlist if you like. A bunch of classic tracks that instead of withering away on the left-hand side of iTunes, are instead expertly curated and mixed to form an enjoyable two-hour journey.

Ryan, ASIP: "When the isolatedmix series first started, my intentions were to include artists who have inspired me from day one, or have recently made a big impact with an amazing record. Magnus, is one of the very few who tick both boxes. His work as Solar Fields leaves me as high as a kite every time. Since his very first album on Ultimae in 2001, to his latest release, #Origin 01, Magnus defines my soundtrack to escapism and his isolatedmix is nothing short of the epitome of beautiful music.

Titled ’21 Days Of Winter’, Magnus has featured some of my favourite artists to date, with N5MD‘s finest; port-royal, Winterlight, Proem and Bitcrush featuring amongst the classic Manual, M83 and Telefon Tel Aviv, resulting in an absolutely stunning isolatedmix. This is one hell of a start to 2011…"

Ryan, ASIP:I’m kind of annoyed at the moment. No sooner do I wrap a post up with ‘music that’s meant to be played live and loud’, AboutFace goes and put’s on a live gig that I don’t hear about – talk about missing out. My saving grace however, is that the set was recorded and available to pleasure from the past.

As expected, Ben’s live performance sounds as polished, organic and unique as the tracks that pricked my ears on the ‘Artifical Intelligence EP‘ released earlier this year. Have a listen to this and let me know if you’e come across anything recently as enjoyable and original as this set…

isolatedmix 17 – Winterlight

Ryan, ASIP: "It’s weird to think that Winterlight was one of the very first artists featured on ASIP around three years ago. I can’t remember how I managed to stumble across Tim’s Winterlight and Lightsway projects, but it was one of those finds which ultimately ended up shaping many epic train journeys, hours of headphone time, endlessly long commutes, moments of personal reflection and of course, (not forgetting) a great night out last year.

Tim’s music pays homage to classic shoegaze and is filled with beautiful atmospherics and ethereal ambience – the perfect matrimony of shimmering guitars and electronic ambient music. I’m often asked for similar music to the likes of Ulrich Schnauss and artists such as Winterlight are first to mind. Whilst Winterlight can sound completely different and is definitely more instrumental in approach (with a heavy focus on guitars, delays and reverb), Tim manages to capture the most unimaginable beauty and escapism in his productions, which can only lead to a mutual admiration for epic shoegaze influenced music I often associate with the likes of Schnauss, Jonas Munk, The Cocteau Twins, and Hammock.

It’s this combination of guitars and electronic ambient which has shaped Tim’s isolatedmix, reflecting on his own personal journeys:

“When I was younger I used to go on long coach journeys just to escape. I made up C90 mixtapes and then bought a return ticket for somewhere far away. I would travel through the day and night watching the world pass by me in a blur and listen to my Walkman and disappear somewhere inside myself to a place I wanted to be. It was if there wasn’t any real world just a backdrop to the music. Nowadays I make my own music to do the same thing. This mix is an attempt to recreate the feel of those tapes and those journeys.”

Classic shoegaze from the originators, including Robin Guthrie, Slowdive and Airiel, amongst the more electronic ambient influences of personal favourites, port-royal. Tim also manages to sneak in some lesser known yet similarly talented artists such as Luga, kontakte and Jesper Lundager, adding depth and variety to the already mouthwatering lineup.

Modest in his ways, Tim hasn’t included any tracks of his own in the mix. But, after a recent signing to one of our favourite labels N5MD (home of port-royal, Lights Out Asia and Near The Parenthesis), the door is open for you to explore Tim’s latest and greatest album, ‘Hope Dies Last’. Including some reworked tracks from Tim’s early Lightsway guise, guest vocals and additional production duties from Mike Cadoo (Bitcrush), the album is a welcome return after what has seemed like an eternity of missing dreamy and ethereal Winterlight productions. Available now on N5MD.

The isolatedmix series will always be a way for me to enlist the musical minds of some of my biggest influences, so I think many of you will join me in saying what a pleasure it is to have a stunning mix from one of the original discoveries on ASIP – and one that’s still releasing amazing music to this day."

Ryan, ASIP: "Anybody see the link yet? That’s right, it’s both an honour and a privilege to introduce the 23rd isolatedmix, by none other than the legendary Carbon Based Lifeforms.

Us CBL fans have been pretty lucky recently; two albums in successive years, with Interloper in 2010 and Twentythree in 2011. But, it hasn’t always been so. With albums sometimes three years apart, this extended anticipation has left many-a CBL fan suffering for years on end. For many, that’s what makes their productions so special and for me, this mix even more so.

Not only are Daniel and Johannes cult heroes heralded by many ambient fans from across the world, but stumbling across any of their releases, or indeed insight into their workings is as rare as the sunshine on a Swedish winters day. Everything that floats out of their studio is quality and has been since their very first release on the ground-breaking Ultimae Records back in 2003.

How do you keep such a fan base in tune over such an extended period? (Damn it, I didn’t even ask that question below). Well, from my point of view… you set the standard for stunning ambient music, you keep raising it with each release and you make sure that every album you produce has the ability to envelope you in warm synthesizers and transport you to that welcoming but strangely isolated place. Daniel and Johannes have it nailed.

isolatedmix 23 is a truly stunning and eclectic journey into the minds of two maestros, with retro sounds and pioneering productions alongside tracks from some of today’s best producers – it’s a who’s who of ambient and electronica and if any of you need an intro into this world, this is it. And if you need an intro into CBL’s world, then scroll down to read a few questions I put their way…"

Hello Daniel, Johannes! I always like to picture the scene for someone answering an interview – can you tell us where you are and what i’ve interrupted you from doing?!
Drinking beer and making the mix in Johannes studio

For anyone not familiar with Carbon Based Lifeforms, can you give us a quick intro to your sound and your main influences?
Textures, pads, 303’s, arpeggios and melodies. Most of our influences can be heard in the mix.

It’s nearly ten years since you signed with Ultimae – that’s quite a long time on one label. Can you tell us a bit about your relationship with them?
They´re really great people and quite easy to work with. They’re more of a family than a label to us.
The reason it’s been working for that long is that they leave us a lot of creative freedom and they are extremely professional… They’ve got their shit together.

Can you describe your working relationship and the roles you both take in producing music? Are there lots of arguments or are you a duo made for each other!?
We tend to start out ideas for songs in our separate studios, and when we find something the other one likes we start hammering it out to a complete song. Not a lot of arguments however we have different roles when it comes to the production. Johannes likes to get lost in a lot of details on sounds and Daniel is usually the one to get things rolling again. Except when it comes to drums and percussions, then the roles are pretty much reversed.

I’ve read before that you love using the Roland TB-303 synth in your music and that you try sneaking it in every track at some point – is this true with twentythree? If not, what was most used instrument in this album?
Well the 303 made it’s way into that album as well but not as predominantly as our previous albums. We used a lot of Clavia G2 Modular on 23 though.

Can you tell us how twentythree differs from your previous albums? What was the idea behind the album?
We had been talking about making a beat-less album since we released World Of Sleepers, and we actually finished a version of it in 2009. But after a lot of self doubt and critical listening, and a good long talk with Ultimae we decided that many of the tracks would sound a lot better with beats than without so we added the beats that were needed and released Interloper instead, hence the name.

I find it really easy to imagine places, landscapes and feelings with your music. Most ambient music possesses this ability, but yours seems to be that much stronger. Is this intentional and do you try to paint vivid pictures with your music?
We have quite a visual way of thinking of music, so maybe thats why. Another reason might be that we usually don’t finish a track in just one sitting, it’s more of an ongoing process which can last for a couple of years. When we´re producing an album we tend to write work on the songs a bunch at a time.

My favourite track from twentythree is ‘Somewhere in Russia’. Where is this somewhere, and what was the inspiration behind the track?
That’s quite a story really… We hade been booked to do a gig in Moscow, Johannes did not want to go but Daniel decided to go alone. However the festival was cancelled and the organizers decided that it would be a terrific idea to not tell Daniel about it so he ended up alone and just a little bit worried at the Moscow Airport. There were no hotel rooms at the airport and no flights back to Gothenburg until two days later. But after countless phone calls to Ultimae and back to Sweden he finally got a hold of Andrei, one of Ultimae’s distributors in Moscow who was on his way to a party a couple of hours outside of Moscow so he picked Daniel up and brought him along. It was during this trip the idea was born. The poem that can be heard at the beginning of that track was written by one the guys from the party.

Where is your ‘Strangely Isolated Place’?
Usually when driving, walking or working.

Sweden seems to be a hub for atmospheric electronic music. How much does Sweden and the places you visit influence your music?
Good question… We tend to think that everything kind of influences the music we make. But maybe it’s the cold and dark climate, or maybe it’s just a cultural thing, it’s usually pretty easy to spot if music is made in the states, the UK, in Scandinavia etc.

You recently played in London at the (very intimate) Inspiral Lounge – do you enjoy gigs like this? What would be your ideal setting for playing a live gig and who would be playing with you?
Yeah Inspiral is a really great place to play, very intimate as you said however it’s really uncomfortable for old geezers like us The stage is basically a small staircase.. But the vibe there is excellent.
As far as ideal setting we came pretty close when we played at Cosmonova in Stockholm, it is the only state of the art imax theatre in sweden with a huge dome and stuff it was really cool, however there is no connection with the audience what so ever… so maybe the ultimate place would be a combination of the two..
Did you get up to anything else whilst in London? Any sightseeing? Did you get to see Kensington Gardens?!
A bit of sightseeing, lot’s of beer and food Yes we went to Kensington Gardens again. We recorded the strange piano thingie on the track Kensington Gardens last time went there. This time we tried to figure out what was making the sound but it turned out you had to have a kid with you to get into that area so i guess we’ll never know.

Can we expect another brilliant 15 years or so of CBL? What have you got planned for the future?
Keep your fingers crossed! Our next project will probably not be another CBL-album. We’ve met a really talented singer, so the next thing we do will probably be something with her. We have not figured out the direction of that project exactly yet but we think it will be something that will please the CBL-fans.

And last but not least, can you talk about your approach and inspirations behind the mix you’ve put together?
At first we just wanted to include tracks that have inspired or influenced us when we started out, but realised we would miss out on a lot of really sweet newer tracks, so it’s a combo of old “important” things and stuff we really love.

Ryan (ASIP): "A sublimemix from Belgium’s Dave Volkaerts touching on the soft side of ambient-techno. It’s the kind of mix that’s perfectly unassuming unless you check the track list. The kind that can send you drifting for an hour only to wake-up and think, ‘hang-on, I swear I recognise a few tracks in there… let’s listen to this again’ (repeat this cycle at least three times). Only then will you see two beauties on Mule Electronic, a touch of Russian inspired CBL, a rare-ambient record from OPN, the legend that is Biosphere in his latest power-plant inspired guise, the Kompakt label boss offering his part, and the softer side of techno legends, Villalobos, Dozzy, Minilogue and Shackleton."

bvdub presents Deep Space Mix 21

Ryan (ASIP): "After their special colab release ‘Symbol 02‘, comes anther much welcomed partnership, but this time ASC has opened up the Deep Space mix Holy Grail to it’s first ever guest… Well, if it was going to be anyone, it was always going to be Brock. No tracklist, which kills me, but that seems to be the ongoing bvdub style… lull you into a heightened sensory experience only to leave you questioning what the hell just happened. Fine by me."

Ryan, ASIP: "It’s been a while since I visited the White Isle, but the influences from my visits still ring true today – I’m a sucker for classic Balearic chill-out.

It’s getting seriously cold in the UK now and with the summer long gone, we’re all wishing we were somewhere else. The first in a two-part series, the idea for this mix come from a short tweet conversation between DJ Rich-Ears and I. A little love for a Balearic track and before we knew it, the challenge had been thrown down.

My choices reflect some of my fondest and personal memories – specific days, nights and mornings. You’ll find classic balearic chill, to more recent efforts and even a hint of my trance influence.

ASIP was up first. DJ Rich-Ears to follow with Pt 2."

Joey Fehrenbach - isolatedmix 14

Ryan, ASIP: "Nearly two years ago now, Joey Fehrenbach’s ‘Being Around You’ popped up in my Last.fm library and formed one of the very early posts on ASIP. After his first album, ‘Mellowdrama’, we had to wait four years for its successor ‘Dont Wake Me’, released just last year. Luckily, the four year break hadn’t resulted in a radical change of direction for Joey, just refinement of his superior downtempo.

Joey’s production sound is heavily reflected in his isolatedmix. An appreciation for chill-out is the spine of Joey’s music and indeed this mix, but it can quickly turn into something more upbeat and addictive. It’s the kind of music that can be played anytime and enjoyed by anyone.

Shorter than most, but sweeter than many, Joey’s isolatedmix is a great warm-up set with driving downtempo beats, playful tones and a few unexpected surprises – plenty of smiles to be had with this one.

See Joey’s site for links to purchase either of Joey’s albums if these awesome beats be floating your boat."

Ryan, ASIP: Santi Lizón is an artist i’ve had the pleasure of witnessing grow these past few years, and I like to think that he has inspired me along the way. I’m not sure how I came across Crisopa at first, but a quick look back at the ASIP archives and it may have been one of the very first mixes I heard from Winterlight back in 2009. Funny, seeing as they are both now signed on the legendary n5MD label. Santi has floated around with several netlabels prior to this years release on n5MD and it was probably his 2010 release ‘Last Membrane’ that ultimately sealed the deal and the chance for a further album with one of the best electronic labels of today.

‘Biodance‘, released last month, is undoubtedly Santi’s best work yet and a culmination of his organic sound; combining glitchy electronics, instrumental shoegaze touches and drifting ambience. I didn’t think you could get better than ‘Dancing Curtains’ on ‘Last Membrane’ – it was like Tycho, Winterlight, and Ulrich Schnauss were jamming on a Summer evening – yep that big (have a listen). But Biodance is an evolution of Santi’s sound, and more electronic noises give it much more variety and depth. ‘Es Todo Mental’ for example, stays very close to ‘Dancing Curtains’ in style, but just absolutely kills it with a thoroughly electronic, oscillating climax.

Take a look at the tracklist for Santi’s isolatedmix and you’ll probably see what I mean. Two of the previously mentioned artists are in there as inspirations, alongside the likes of Jon Hopkins, Ochre and Ametsub – a rich mix of recent electronica pioneers. It’s pretty easy to hear the Crisopa sound in amongst this lot, and if this mix serves any purpose, it’s crowning glory will be to introduce you to the beautiful sound of Santiago Lizón Martínez.

You can purchase ‘Biodance’ from n5MD, and download ‘Last Membrane’ for free here.

“I Pretended to create a trip from quiet introspection to more dynamic feelings without losing the connection
with sensitivity, beauty and power. This also pretends to be a little tribute to the artists in here
to appreciate their infuence over me and the great moments provided to me.”

Ryan, ASIP: It’s safe to say that Textural Being‘s recent productions have reaffirmed and reignited my love for dub-techno. It’s the kind of genre that needs attention, yet once emerged, I often find it more calming to listen to than the deepest ambient music. Repetition and restatement in music is often cited to be critical and dub-techno is at times the epitome of this approach. Some, get bored-stiff of a distant thud, but Sage Taylor’s approach is anything but.

If I had to pick an example, it would be Sage’s latest EP ‘En Ce Moment’ on the always brilliant Energostatic (Marc Atmost’s label) and in particular, ‘Sept’ taken from this album. Shimmering and soft, with subtle tonal bass changes. This is the type of music that sends you drifting. It’s window-watching, perfect for reflection and observation, conjuring pictures of past, what might be, or just appreciating the beauty of what’s sat directly infront of you.

Sage has similar thoughts when listening to some of his favourite music, and for isolatedmix 29, each track has been meticulously selected based on the image it created. A mixture of ambient, dub-techno and electronica, the inspirations are vivid and yearn for deeper introspection. So, the journey’s there for you to take, or the options there for you to create something completely new…

“I chose the tracks in this mix for their ability to conjure up such strong imagery and colour in my head when I listen to them, that if I recall the images later, I can hear other music playing along to them in my mind’s ear. These sounds sometimes (though not always) go on to become tunes of my own, once I’ve spent enough time transforming them from thought to sound wave. It’s not a perfect description of the process, but it’s the easiest way I can think of to describe how the songs I picked for this mix affect me, on a personal level.

Then there’s the emotional level, which had a big part in how I decided what songs to pick as well… The emotional side of music is very important to me, which I hope is evident by the selections I’ve made! This was -not- by any means an easy list to narrow down. There are so many amazing sounds out there by so many different talented musicians everywhere, that fitting a coherent communication into a single hour can be a daunting task… But, it was a challenge I was more than happy to undertake. So, I’m communicating to everyone music that’s very close to me, and what I do; music that’s helped move me along in my evolution as a sound aritst. Hopefully I’ve managed to provide a good picture of that”.

I guess this is why I love running this site. The evolution of friendships, of musical knowledge, and being witness over the past four years or so, to numerous artists flourishing, progressing, developing their sound and finding whatever it is they’re seeking from their musical ventures.

Roberto Sodano is one of those artists. From tuning into his beautiful ‘mixtape’ series spanning ambient, electronica and shoegaze, to seeing his remixes come alive for Joey Fehrenbach; AUDIOGLIDER has now made one of the biggest steps in his career signing with with Nick Brennan’s (Tripswitch’s) label, Section Records. As always with the isolatedmix series, I reserve invitations for those who have made a significant impact on me musically, and funnily enough, I think Roberto’s only just getting started. I hear tonnes of remixes are planned, a new album, and one thing I do know for definite, a sneaky Places Series release is also on the horizon. About time Roberto stepped up to the isolatedmix series I say.

We’re going straight to the heart of the AUDIOGLIDER sound with this one. Roberto’s music is varied, progressive and always emotive, and as he goes on to describe below, this mix captures the essence of his production approach with some of his biggest inspirations. It’s a tracklist which can easily be glanced over to the untrained musical eye, but one that comes to life upon reflection. Manual features twice, as does the more recent Bristolian pioneer Stumbleine, Ambient, electronica, shoegaze-hints of new and old, as well as an exclusive remix, this one’s got it all.

I’ll be the first to admit – I’m a bit of a music nerd – its a bug I’ve had since I was a kid – not because my parents had an amazing record collection or anything – (Demis Roussos anyone?), but the way music, sounds, sonics, audio whatever you call it, were able to connect with me, was astounding – especially to a shy kid growing up in South Wales. It became a way to escape and connect with another world of unlimited potential. And even while the present immediate availability of any music from any artist has made events like buying an album a thing of the past, I still get excited discovering new artists and music that affect my soul in the same inspirational way.

When I was asked to put together an Isolated Mix for ASIP, I thought, oh bloody hell, you’ve got to have a theme – all the best ones have a theme. I considered doing an ‘influences’ mix, but having been round the block as I have, I didn’t want it to be a trip down memory lane, or too nostalgic – I’m not really one for retrospectives, and there’s still so much new music and so many new artists for people to discover and hopefully put on the map. So i thought, try and capture the spirit of all my musical influences, all the contradictions, all the inconsistencies, and attempt to create something of a journey that reflects all of these – the ex drummer and DJ who makes music on a laptop, the ex vinyl junkie who embraced the fantastic netlabel scene, the ex shoegazer who traded in fx pedals for a 4/4 beat, a strobe, and a sub bass, the technophobe who embraced technology, the 4AD freak who…….the list goes on…….

There are a whole heap of artists on here that have blown me away with the sheer quality of their creative output, Manual, Syntaks, Stockfinster, Motionfield, ST, Dub Tractor – coincidentally all from Scandinavia – I hadn’t really thought about why all of these artists’ music resonates with me but here goes – its how their melodies and compositions manage to create warmth out of glacial sound palettes – something I strive to be able to do in my own compositions – Elsewhere we have Russian artists Slow, SEVEN, and Seaman S, who make beautifully emotional melodic ambient – I was lucky enough to get samples from one of them to create the closing track track to this Isolated Mix as a collaboration, and available exclusively here. Other recent discoveries that are on constant rotation on my headphones – are the majestically lush Horizon Fire, Stumbleine w/Essay, Arms and Sleepers and Marconi Union, and the amazingly enigmatic, chilly, deep and groovy Ghosting Season.

This list could have gone on – but I had to stop somewhere. Hope you enjoy the ride as much as I enjoyed putting it together.